Tabloids are reporting that love is brewing between model Yuri Ebihara, 29, popularly known as “Ebi-chan,” and Ilmari, 33, from the hip-hop group Rip Slyme. According to Friday magazine, the two started off Golden Week with a visit to Ebihara’s hometown of Miyazaki to meet her parents. They then visited Aoshima Shrine, a sightseeing spot dedicated to the god of matchmaking and marriage. Friday published photos of the date and said the couple went to the shrine with Ebihara’s mother, twin sister and brother-in-law. Ilmari, who was born to a Japanese father and Finnish mother, began dating actress Maho Nonami, 29, in 2004. Everyone believed marriage was in the air, but the pair broke it off at the beginning of this year. Friday quotes unidentified sources as saying it was after this breakup that things began to heat up between Ilmari and Ebihara. CB

Elena Natsumi, 14, who plays guitar, bass and drums, has been chosen as the poster girl for the August 8 music event “Senko Riot 2009,” which features teen bands from around the country performing at Tokyo Big Sight… Actress Kyoko Fukada (Yatterman), 26, won the “Gold Make-Up Award” given by the Make Up Society of Japan, but said she doesn’t doll herself up when going on dates, preferring a more boyish look. CB

commute

Most packed Tokyo Metro subway trains (morning rush hour)

*Note: 100 percent capacity means that all passengers are able to sit or hold onto a strap or door railingSource: Bureau of Transportation, Tokyo Metropolitan Government

serufu-keaOrigin: self careMeaning: Taking care of yourself, maintaining your own healthExample: この体操は家でもできる簡単セルフケア; Kono taisou wa ie demo dekiru kantan serufu-kea; This exercise can be done at home and is an easy way to stay healthy

ワンポイント

wan-pointoOrigin: one pointMeaning: an accent or point of emphasisExample: このネックレスは今日のコーデのワンポイントだ; Kono nekkuresu wa kyou no koode no wan-pointo da; This necklace is the centerpiece of my outfit today

オンパレード

on pare-doOrigin: on paradeMeaning: an assembly of; a lot of; recurringExample: 今日の夕飯は揚げ物のオンパレードだ; Kyu no yuuhan wa agemono no
on pare-do da; Tonight’s dinner is full of fried stuff

media mix-up

Since launching at the end of 2006, MySpace Japan has struggled to gain the upper hand over home-grown SNS heavyweight Mixi. It hasn’t been for want of trying, mind you: after getting off to a shaky start, the site has gone out of its way to appeal to Japanese users, from providing a mobile service to introducing online karaoke. Its latest innovation is the kind of thing that would never work anywhere else. How do you keep ahead of the pack in the fast-paced, ever-shifting world of web technology? By launching a static, monthly print magazine, apparently. MySpace Japan president Atsushi Taira claims that MySpace from JP is aimed at innovators and early adopters, and though there are some familiar faces in there (do we really need more interviews with Kasabian and Tadanobu Asano?), it mostly steers clear of the over-obvious in favor of creators who are overlooked by the mainstream media. Bundling together fashion, photography, dance, music and movies, the end result is like a hyperactive version of long-running culture rag Studio Voice… with more URLs. And that ain’t half bad.

A decade ago, Tokyo didn’t have Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Disney Sea or the Oedo subway line. It did, however, have an early incarnation of Yahoo! Maps, and now you can compare the city of today with its late-’90s counterpart. Yahoo offshoot LatLongLab’s Tokyo Decade is an ingenious application that lets you zoom around the maps of Tokyo ’99 and ’09 simultaneously, comparing the changes as you go. It’s fascinating—and dangerously addictive—stuff. Kiss the rest of your afternoon goodbye.

Forget about genki drinks and collagen-enhanced pasta dishes. The latest food obsession to hit Tokyo is a pastry that can make you smarter. In collaboration with the TBS show Mr. Brain, in which Smap member Takuya Kimura plays a brilliant, crime-solving neurosurgeon, Yamazaki Baking Co. has released the Mr. Brain Brain Training Bread. The sickly-sweet snack is filled with enough shio-caramel, chocolate and whipped cream to induce the sugar high of a lifetime. But what really sets this confection apart is the secret ingredient—DHA, a.k.a. docosahexaenoic acid, better known as an omega-3 essential fatty acid said to promote brain activity and function. For just ¥128 at your local conbini, you too can be as smart as Kimutaku.